


Side Effects

by dezimaton



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 10:54:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17343998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dezimaton/pseuds/dezimaton
Summary: Esper suffers. A lot.warning for vomiting/gross shit





	Side Effects

It starts with a slight itch at the back of his throat. Esper feels a cough coming, but doesn’t think much of it. He brings a gloved hand to cover his mouth, to spare the sheets of equations before him of any spit, and continued examining his work. The slight stain of having little flecks of spit on a page bother him just enough that he’d be forced to rewrite everything on fresh sheets of paper. And nobody, not even a time traveler, had time and patience enough to rewrite that many pages of equations.

When the cough manifests itself, it catches the time traveler by surprise. He sputters. A jet of ink black tar escapes from his lips, gushing through the cracks of his fingers and splattering across his work desk. Esper’s eyes widen in shock, his previously white sclera showing hints of corruption at the edges. _It isn’t a cough._

 

Equation sheets forgotten, Esper shakily pushes away from the desk and scrambles for the bathroom.

 

The second wave hits him sooner than expected, winding him like a solid punch to the stomach, stopping him dead before he’s through the open door frame of his bedroom. Rasping for breath, Esper can’t help but crumple into a useless heap on the floor.

 

His entire body shudders, filled with an unsettling static. Intense needle-like pain shoots through every inch of his body, his stomach churns vigorously and his abdomen burns like wildfire. Between the muffled whines that he can’t stop making, another mouthful of tar spills out of him, coating the floor beneath him. Esper’s shuddering fingers claw at the floor, searching for something to clench, anything to help him get through.

 

When the intensity of the pain ebbs, Esper renews his efforts to get to the bathroom.

 

A strained whine accompanies the time traveler’s attempt to stand, remnants of vomit dripping from his chin. The black stain on the floor beneath him make him feel awful. Just looking at it makes him nauseous and want to throw up again. He manages to curl his fingers around the door handle, but a third wave hits. His body locks up and the time traveler collapses into the puddle on the floor.

Esper doesn’t even have the strength to shift his position, ragged breaths creating waves in the sickeningly warm puddle. The muscles in his body refuse to cooperate, only twitching every so often and he loses himself. Mouthfuls of pitch well up out of him, pausing only for him to gasp for air in between.

 

It feels endless. An indefinite amount of time passes and when his mind clears enough to think, the black shit is everywhere. His own mind spits at him.

 

_‘Disgusting.’_

 

_'You’re so disgusting…’_

 

He clutches at his head, trying to shut out the voice but it doesn’t help. _'Just like a monster,’_ it echoes. Esper opens his mouth to scream, but it’s drowned out as more tar bubbles up his throat, the only noise escaping a soft but strangled gurgle.

 

_'A disgusting inhuman monster.’_

 

Esper keens and grinds his head against the floor. Amidst the static, he feels the distinct sensation of his intestines relocating themselves upwards and the rest of his organs twisting in equally unnatural ways.

 

Honestly, his body is probably trying to help, trying to purge itself of the toxins that had built up inside of him. Although at this point, so much of him _is_ corruption. Is there anything left inside to “save” but ink? He knows that he’s fucked up, that he shouldn’t be alive in this state, but it still hurts to be reminded of how horribly wrong everything is. He can at least pretend things are fine when it isn’t so painfully obvious.

 

Incapable of moving, Esper only wishes he had the insight to lock the door.

* * *

 

The time traveler is only half-conscious when two white shoes step into his field of vision.

 

“Esper?” A familiar voice asks.

 

The time traveler inhales sharply. Even dazed, he instantly knows who it was. _'Shit shit shit shit shit SHIT- he’s- he’s not- not supposed to be here.’_ Esper frantically scuttles away from Mastermind, covering his face with his hands. _'He’s going to see you for the monster that you are,’_ the voice hissed. _'No no no no no NO- he’s not supposed to.’_

 

It’s not like the time traveler can hide much, ink coating the desk, floor, and himself. The situation is clear as day, and he knows it, but he can’t bear to look at the scientist’s face scrunch with, probably, a mix of shock, fear, worry, and disgust. Just imagining it makes his chest tighten, himself scooting backwards as fast as he can until he presses against the corner.

 

He hears the flutter of the scientist’s robes as he rushes in, voice shaking with worry, “Esper, what’s wrong?!? Esper!”

 

“Get out!” the time traveler snarls. “Don’t come here,” he sobs in a quieter voice, curling in on himself. “I’m- I’m… disgusting.” He mutters into the corner. As though on cue, he retches and a fresh torrent of ink fights out of his throat.  The tar coats his chest and knees. Its warmth leaching through his suit feels awful, but the time traveler refuses to uncurl from his protective ball.

Mastermind glances over the room before setting his worried gaze on the shivering time traveler in the corner. The scientist tentatively steps closer and crouches down to the floor.

 

“I’m not going anywhere,” Mastermind replies softly, reaching out a hand towards Esper’s shoulder.

 

The time traveler growls, or tries to. The only sound escaping from him is a mix of a pained whine and a hiss. “I said don’t touch me! You’ll- You’ll get it on you, ” he struggles between uneven breaths.

 

Mastermind doesn’t flinch and grasps his shoulder gently. “I don’t care,” he affirms. Esper weakly jerks away, but there’s no place to go in the corner. It doesn’t achieve anything but prompt a fresh mouthful of tar. The time traveler clenches his shuddering jaw shut.

 

The scientist leans in and pulls Esper’s shaking hands from his face, revealing a look of abject fear. He is a mess, face soiled with his own vomit, blood, or whatever it was he was retching up. The time traveler’s eyes are wide open, unblinking, afraid of Mastermind’s judgment.

 

Despite the abyssal black of his sclera, Mastermind meets his eyes calmly as though nothing were wrong. “See, it’s not so bad.” Mastermind coos in a soothing tone.

 

“But- but I’m so-” Esper chokes out.

 

The scientist shakes his head. “You’re fine. This doesn’t change anything. You’re still the same Esper to me.”

 

“Y- You really think so?” Esper’s hiccups. His vision blurs and before he knows it, hot tears stream down his cheeks. They’re inky just like his blood, saliva, everything inside of him, but tears nevertheless. Mastermind wraps his arms around Esper and pats his back. The scientist’s response is soft, gentle, and it breaks him. Within moments Esper begins to sob raggedly into Mastermind’s shoulder, overwhelmed with relief.  

 

The pain that wracks his body feels lighter within Mastermind’s embrace. The scientist’s soft words of encouragement and hand pressing soothing circles onto his back fill him with a different kind of warmth, a pleasant kind. Esper’s sobs are punctuated by strangled squeaks when the pain intensifies or when more tar fights to meet the air, but eventually everything quiets down.

* * *

 

Esper’s breathing slows to a steady pace and after the long silence, he meekly whispers, “I’m sorry Mastermind, for ruining your coat.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, are you alright?” Mastermind asks, carding his gloved fingers through Esper’s damp hair.

 

Esper nods into Mastermind’s shoulder, “Yeah.”

 

The scientist squeezes him tight, “It worries me when you don’t tell me these things. How long has this been happening?”

 

The time traveler shudders. How long has it been? He hadn’t kept track himself. “I don’t know.”

 

Mastermind makes an unsatisfied hum. “I’m sorry,” Esper mutters absently.

 

The scientist eyes him with concern. “Call for me next time. You don’t need to handle it yourself.”

 

“But you’ll get all gross again,” Esper protested, jerking away to scrutinize Mastermind’s expression.

 

“I don’t care, just let me do this.” Mastermind almost begs, his forehead creased with concern.

 

Esper pauses before giving a tentative nod. The scientist smiles weakly in response. 

 

Mastermind realizes that Esper may not have the ability to do so, so he makes a mental note to dedicate a drone monitoring the time traveler later, quietly of course.

 

“Good, why don’t we get cleaned up then.” Mastermind scoops up the time traveler, one arm under his legs and another supporting the back, and carries Esper towards the bathroom for a shower they so desperately needed.

Along the way, Esper presses a kiss to the scientist’s cheek. Mastermind freezes up and nearly drops him, just as planned. Esper smiles at his good work. The time traveler decides he’ll ravish his counterpart further once they enter the bathroom.

 

“I love you, Mastermind.”

The scientist turns to kiss his forehead, and now it was Esper’s turn to flush red.

 

“I love you too, Esper.”

**Author's Note:**

> Naming conventions: (Mastermind/Scientist) (Esper/Time Traveler)


End file.
